1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of account linking. In particular, the invention relates to technologies for linking information for a particular electronic web site with a phone based application platform, e.g. to provide electronic commerce.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following describes various techniques used in telephone systems to provide enhanced user features. First, telephone identifying information will be discussed. Many telephone systems that support enhanced user features use telephone identifying information as a basic component. Next, a web based state management mechanism will be described. Then, methods of storing state in telephone based applications will be described. Finally, some approaches used on personal computers and web-only environments will be considered.
1. Telephone Identifying Information
The advent of automatic number identification (ANI) and calling number identification (CNID, CLID, or CID) within the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) has supported the creation of a number of services that use these pieces of telephone identifying information. Comparable systems may be used in other numbering plans and countries to support similar services.
For example, when consumers receive credit cards in the mail, they have to call from their home telephone numbers to activate the cards. This is a typical use of ANI. In this instance, the credit card company matches the ANI information provided when the consumer calls to a previously provided telephone number. If the ANI matches the credit card company's records, the credit card company activates the card.
2. Cookies
Cookies are the colloquial term for the “HTTP State Management Mechanism” that as more fully defined in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request For Comment (RFC) 2109.
In a similar vein, a modified standard is being developed for proxy state management. See “HTTP Proxy State Management Mechanism” draft proposal to the IETF.
3. Storing State in Telephony Applications
Previous techniques have identified and personalized a user's phone experience through ANI, or other phone-specific device identification information, e.g. telephone identifying information. Alternatively, or in some cases additionally, an explicit user identifier and/or password had to be provided to the application. Then, the individual applications could maintain appropriate state information keyed to that ANI, or user identifier. The state information itself was stored in an application specific, e.g. proprietary, format.
4. Personal Computer-Centric and Web-Centric Solutions
Previous techniques such the keychain from Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, Calif. (introduced as a standard feature in the Mac OS(™) operating system version 9, but available earlier as part of Powertalk in version 7), and the features in some Internet browsers to remember passwords, e.g. Internet Explorer(™) from Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash., are personal computer centric. These techniques depend on the interface to the remote web site, e.g. the personal computer, having sufficient input mechanisms as well as data storage to allow users to easily enter and store information for access. In the case of the Apple(™) keychain, the user assigns a single username and password on their computer to unlock stored usernames and passwords for multiple resources, e.g. computer logins, web sites, servers, etc Similarly, with browsers such as Internet Explorer(™), the sign in information you provide a single time may be automatically pre-filled on return visits.
Because most telephone interfaces lack easy mechanisms for input of arbitrary text, e.g. letters and symbols, such systems do not easily translate to a phone based system. Further, even if such a system were adopted, users of a voice portal would face enormous hurdles (time, frustration, different input mechanisms) just providing that usernames and passwords for each site.
Some companies such as Microsoft(™) have attempted to reduce the proliferation of accounts (e.g. usernames and passwords for different sites) by encouraging end users to adopt a single identity for purchasing across multiple web sites, a so called “passport”, see <http://www.passport.com/>. The approach is limited because competing “passport” style and wallet systems may need to be supported by a single vendor, which in turn leads to the need to maintain some sort of vendor specific account.
5. Conclusion
Previous techniques are personal computer centric and expect users to easily be able to provide information that is difficult to input over the telephone using standard telephone keypads. Previous approaches do not easily allow the association of telephone identifying information with an account. Previous approaches do not easily allow a single sign on approach based on telephone identifying information to securely unlock access to accounts at multiple entities without the need for the operator of the telephone service to maintain knowledge of the account information.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and apparatus for providing account linking for telephone applications that can operate in environments with applications provided by multiple legal entities and support multiple users from a single telephone and multiple telephones for a given user, and provide simple mechanisms for linking a web account to a telephone account over the web.